Ronda

Garry’s reaction was priceless. I knew it would be. The first time you see Ronda’s breath-taking escarpment everyone instinctively gasps. His reaction was identical to my own 19 years ago. In fact, every memory I have of Ronda has stood the test of time. This is still one of the most surprisingly places I’ve ever visited. At first, as you enter the town, it feels like another dull, and not particularly attractive, old town. You soon learn that nothing could be further from the truth.


Not only is Ronda the largest of Andalucia’s pableo blancos, it’s also home for some of the region’s most surprising highlights. The town sits on the edge of stunning cliff face that plunges more than 100 metres without warning. One moment you’re walking towards just another scenic outlook, the next moment you’re staring straight down toward a distant valley floor. This is just the first highlight.


Follow the cliff’s sheer edge towards the old town and it suddenly splits into a narrow, worn and rocky El Tajo gorge. This is Ronda’s second highlight. Here the Guadalevin river flows through the town separating its old medieval heart from a more modern urban centre. Modern still means dwellings constructed more than a century ago. We stopped in one such establishment for a leisurely tapas lunch, where customers are invited to draw their own beer from tabletop tap.


Crossing between the two halves of the town is made possible by the third highlight; Puente Nuevo. This is a dramatic, stone arch bridge rising boldly up from the river bed below. This majestic feat of engineering draws instant accolades from every visitor. A narrow, almost death-defying flight of stairs take you down the side of the gorge, inside the bridge’s main arch where a small exhibition tells the history of its construction and the gorge itself


Highlight number four is the Plaza de Toros, or bullring. It sits in the centre of the modern town. The traditions of modern bullfighting were first created here in the 18th Century by a Pedro Romero. This bullfighter broke away from the established art of bullfighting on horseback, choosing to challenge the bull on foot instead. Today you can visit a small museum underneath its tiered seating, as well as stand in the middle of the dirt ring itself


Ronda’s final highlight is the old town itself, La Ciudad. This is the original urban centre. It consists of winding cobbled streets, where handsome town mansions have been lovingly restored. Some are still occupied by Ronda's titled families. Many of the buildings were erected during Ronda's brief reign as a minor Moorish Caliphate under Córdoba in the 12th century.


We spent a soul-restoring morning wandering La Ciudad's quiet lanes, as well as stopping at Plaza del Campillo where steep steps and a zigzagging pathway take you down to a dramatic eye-level through the Puente Nuevo’s span. At the edge of town you can also find the remnants of an old city wall, including a dramatic Moorish gateway.

It’s not often reality matches fading memories. Ronda does. I’ll be back in another 19 years to relive the magic of this wonderful town.